Mackie Shilstone -- local TV personality, supplement-shop owner and fitness trainer and motivator to the stars -- appeared on Thursday's episode of "Live with Regis and Kelly" to whip co-host and celebrity cardiac patient Regis Philbin into shape.

MACKIE SHILSTONE

Shilstone, a performance enhancement expert at Ochsner Medical Center and director of health and fitness at the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute, took Philbin and co-host Kelly Ripa out of the studio, onto 67th Street, up Columbus and back into the studio for an arm-swinging power walk.

The morning show this week is featuring a heart-healthy segment, just in time for the return of Philbin, who recently underwent cardiac surgery earlier this year. Shilstone took the hosts into a sample of the circuit training session he uses on elite boxers, but tailored the workout to something viewers could do at home.

"See? You take the labels off cans, and you have a nice grip here," said Shilstone, who had Philbin and Ripa doing bicep curls and boxing maneuvers with canned goods. He also had them work their lower body by doing lunges behind their chairs.

After the show, Mackie said he stretched out both Kelly and producer Michael Gelman, who invited the New Orleans fitness guru onto the show after reading Mackie's latest book, "Lean and Hard."

"Then I worked on Regis for 45 minutes," Shilstone said.

The hosts have invited Shilstone to be their guest when the show comes to New Orleans May 23 for four days of tapings.

"They want me to take them out in New Orleans and give them a workout," Shilstone said.

Eventually, Shilstone hopes to be able to return the favor by having Philbin on his show. He recently completed shooting the pilot episode for a prospective new TV series titled "Mackie: Are You Ready?"

The show was taped at several locations around town and co-starred Shilstone client, actor and local resident John Goodman. The production company behind "American Chopper" is backing "Are You Ready?"

"They wanted to develop a good show, a show about positive change going on in people's lives," Shilstone said. "It's a show about motivation, a show about people reclaiming the passion in their life."